Supporters of the Affordable Care Act celebrate after the Supreme Court upheld the law in the 6-3 vote.

SupremeCourt:Health care law is here to stay

Ruling upholds aid to millions of low- and middle-income Americans

By Mark Sherman

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court sent a clear message Thursday that President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is here to stay, rejecting a major challenge that would have imperiled the landmark law and health insurance for millions of Americans. Whether you call it the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, or in the words of a dissenting justice, SCOTUScare, Obama’s signature domestic achieve- ment is, as the president himself put it, “reality.” The 6-3 ruling, which upheld finan- cial aid to millions of low- and middle- income Americans to help pay for insurance premiums regardless of where they live, was the second major victory in three years for Obama in politically charged Supreme Court tests of the law. And it came on the same day the court gave him an unex- pected victory on another subject, pre- serving a key tool the administration uses to fight housing bias. Obama greeted news of the health care decision by declaring the law is no longer about politics but the benefits

See RULING, Page 18

REUTERS

President Barack Obama,right,delivers remarks next to Vice President Joe Biden.

Contours of president’s legacy form with help of unlikely allies

By Julie Pace

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Long past the prime of his presidency, Barack Obama is defying the lame-duck label and solidifying the contours of his legacy with the help of unlikely

allies in Congress and the Supreme Court. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the high court preserved Obama’s sig- nature health care law Thursday, hours before a Republican-controlled

See LEGACY, Page 18

AUSTIN WALSH/DAILY JOURNAL

A view of the parking lot just west of the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station, around which is planned two large new developments.

Massive Millbrae station proposal moving forward

Residents will have chance to provide feedback on environmental impact report

By Austin Walsh

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Residents will have a formal opportunity to express their opinion on a plan which is slated to overhaul the gateway to Millbrae, as officials take a crack at considering the environmental impact document for development of the region near the Caltrain and BART station. The draft environmental impact report and Millbrae Station Area Specific Plan will come before the Millbrae officials Tuesday, June 30, during a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission. The massive undertaking aims to add roughly 400,000 square feet of office space, about 79,000 square feet of retail space and more than 800 residential units split between two projects located on an 116-acre site next to the transit sta- tion off Millbrae Avenue.

Though increased state funding has allowed for vital edu- cational programs to be removed from the chopping block, officials in the San Bruno Park Elementary School District are moving forward to gauge voter interest in supporting a tax measure. During a meeting Wednesday, June 24, the district Board of Trustees further narrowed down potential firms which would be selected to poll residents on their potential sup- port for a sustained, dedicated revenue source to the school district.

See TAX, Page 23

2Friday • June 26, 2015

FOR THE RECORD

THE DAILY JOURNAL

Thought for the Day

“The formula for success is

simple:practice and concentration then

more practice and more concentration.”

— Babe Didrikson Zaharias,American athlete

This Day in History

1945 The charter of the United Nations was

signed by 50 countries in San

Francisco.

In 1483, Richard III began his reign as King of England

(he was crowned the following month at Westminster

Abbey).

In 1870 , the first section of Atlantic City, New Jersey’s

Boardwalk was opened to the public.

In 1915, following a whirlwind courtship, poet T.S. Eliot

married Vivienne Haigh-Wood in London. (The marriage

proved disastrous, but the couple never divorced.) Air condi-

tioning manufacturer Carrier Engineering Corp. was incor-

porated in New York.

In 1925 , Charles Chaplin’s classic comedy “The Gold

Rush” premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in

Hollywood.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated

for a second term of office by delegates to the Democratic

national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman authorized the U.S. Air

Force and Navy to enter the Korean War.

In 1959 , President Dwight D. Eisenhower joined Britain’s

Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St.

Lawrence Seaway. Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson

knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their

match at New York’s Yankee Stadium to win the heavyweight

title.

In 1963 , President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin,

where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity

with the city’s residents, declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I

am a Berliner).

In 1973 , former White House counsel John W. Dean told

the Senate Watergate Committee about an “enemies list”

kept by the Nixon White House.

REUTERS

A chair is hurled at police by protesters during a demonstration to demand changes in the Chilean education system in

As a public service, the Daily Journal prints obituaries of approximately 200 words or less with a photo one time on the date of the family’s choosing. To submit obituaries, email

information along with a jpeg photo to news@smdailyjournal.com.Free obituaries are edited for style,clarity,length and grammar.If you would like to have an obituary printed

more than once, longer than 200 words or without editing, please submit an inquiry to our advertising department at ads@smdailyjournal.com.

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LOCAL

Friday • June 26, 2015

3

Half Moon Bay loses $18M claim

Insurance company wins arbitration regarding Beachwood lawsuit

By Samantha Weigel

DAILY JOURNAL STAFF

Still striving to recover as much as possi- ble after being ordered to pay more than $18 million from the Beachwood property law- suit, the city of Half Moon Bay recently lost a claim seeking assistance from a third insurance provider. The city recently entered arbitration with Lexington Insurance Company as it sought nearly $18 million to help refund what it paid toward the settlement, attorney fees and related costs after a U.S. District Court judge determined the city destroyed a once- developable 24-acre property. Yet, last month, two of the three arbitra- tors ultimately determined the city’s mis- conduct occurred prior to it taking out a pol- icy with Lexington in late 2000 and didn’t have rights to any reimbursement. While disappointed, city officials main- tain Half Moon Bay is still on its way to retiring its debt early as it was able to col- lect $18.15 million from two other insur- ance providers. Mayor Marina Fraser said losing arbitra- tion against Lexington should not impact the city’s continued momentum toward a more stable financial future. “If anything, it was just going to be some extra money from the Beachwood judg- ment,” Fraser said. “We received $5 million from ABAG, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and a couple years ago $13 million from one of the primary insurance companies. We took that money and have been paying off $1.2 million annually. That debt will still be paid off in 2019.” The Beachwood debacle stemmed from the mid-1980s when the city begun a flawed drainage project that, over the course of the next 30 years, ultimately led to wetlands

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developing on the site previously slated for an 83-unit housing development. Once the wetlands were established, the planned development was prevented from proceed- ing as the once profitable site had been essentially transformed to protected vegeta- tive habitat. The private property owner won the case around 2007 and the city was initially ordered to pay more than $36 million, but was able to negotiate it down to $18 mil- lion. Faced with needing to secure bonds to settle its debt and paired with the economy taking a nosedive, the city’s finances were in upheaval. So the city pressed on with recovering as much as possible from its various insurance providers and, after some success, opted to try Lexington as well, Fraser said. On Tuesday, Lexington filed a petition in San Mateo County Superior Court to con- firm the arbitration. A few lingering insurance policies that could potentially assist remain, but it’s not clear whether it will be worthwhile to try as the city has already cashed in on the easier, low-hanging fruit policies, said City Attorney Tony Condotti. “Each policy was different. The ABAG policy and the [Insurance Company of the West] policy were for earlier periods of time and the coverage language was slightly dif- ferent than the Lexington Insurance Company,” Condotti said. Despite being unsuccessful during the arbitration, Councilwoman Debbie Ruddock said it’s important to note the city is no

worse off than it was before the recent rul- ing. “I’m very happy to know that the city doesn’t appear to be obligated to make unanticipated expenditures as a result of this action,” Ruddock said, noting Condotti believes Half Moon Bay is not responsible for paying Lexington’s attorneys’ fees. The council will convene for a closed ses- sion meeting next month to review the arbi- trators’ ruling and Ruddock said she hopes officials will continue to discuss what to do with the now city-owned 24.7-acre parcel of undeveloped land. Having recently returned to elected office, Ruddock said she’s disappointed the city didn’t try to appeal the U.S. District Court ruling and initial evaluation of the property being worth nearly $38 million — particu- larly as the low-lying property at the base of a hill has long been known as a muddy, wet site. Furthermore, the city also opted to let the former property owner keep water connec- tion rights purchased for the site, which were worth between $3.5 million and $4 million, Ruddock said. “The city’s been talking about doing something with the Beachwood property, but we’re very limited because of the lack of water connections,” Ruddock said. “Old timers will tell you, they used to call that property ‘hog wallow,’ because it was always muddy and wet.” Although the chapter of the Beachwood lawsuit debacle isn’t quite closed, officials agreed it’s good to be moving on. “I’m content knowing that our basic expenses seem to be covered,” Ruddock said. “But yes, hindsight is 20-20.”

samantha@smdailyjournal.com (650) 344-5200 ext. 106

Police reports

That’s wild

Acoyote was heard howling on Heritage Court in Belmont before 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, June 24.

BELMONT

saw

bright lights through her window and saw

someone walk to her driveway only to leave when she turned on the lights on Casa Bona Avenue before 1:43 a.m. Wednesday, June

24.

Sus pi ci o us ci rcums tance. A woman

walked into the kitchen of another person’s house on El Verano Way before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 23.

Di s turbance. Three kids were digging in

the dirt of a vacant lot with picks and shov- els on Terrace Drive before 1:51 p.m. Tuesday, June 23. Theft. A credit card and cash was stolen from a purse on El Camino Real before 3:06

p.m. Sunday, June 21. Stolen vehicle. A woman noticed her vehicle missing on Old County Road before 7:41 a.m. Friday, June 19.

FOSTER CITY

Di s turbance . Two people were using

homemade wooden rails as skateboard jumps in a parking lot on Shell Boulevard before 3:23 p.m. Wednesday, June 24.

So

setting up a table and umbrella on the side- walk with the intention to sell ﬂowers for graduation day without a business permit on Polynesia Drive before 7:21 a.m. Wednesday, June 24. Arres t. A man was arrested for driving on a suspended license while under the inﬂuence of narcotics on Metro Center Boulevard before 7:06 a.m. Wednesday, June 24. Arres t. Aman was arrested for driving with- out a drivers license on Chess Drive before 10:27 a.m. Tuesday, June 23.

California’s vaccine bill aims to increase immunization rates after a measles outbreak linked to Disneyland in December sickened over 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico.

State vaccine bill clears major legislative hurdle

By Julia Horowitz

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO — California’s Assembly on Thursday approved a hotly contested bill requiring that nearly all public schoolchild- ren be vaccinated, clearing one of its last major legislative obstacles before the meas- ure heads to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown. The bill aims to increase immunization rates after a measles outbreak linked to Disneyland in December sickened over 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico. It would give California one of the nation’s strictest vaccine laws by striking the state’s personal belief exemption. Only children with serious health issues would be allowed to opt out of mandatory vaccine schedules. Unvaccinated children would need to be homeschooled. If the bill becomes law, California would join Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict requirements. “Do we wait until we have a full-fledged crisis to protect the most vulnerable?” Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, asked as she presented the bill. The measure passed on a bipartisan 46-30 vote after weeks of vocal opposition, with thousands of parents placing calls to repre- sentatives and donning red shirts to protest at the Capitol. But proponents have been equally res-

olute, standing by 7-year-old leukemia sur- vivor Rhett Krawitt Wednesday as he deliv- ered a petition with over 30,000 signatures to the Democratic governor. Krawitt’s par- ents said that because he could not be immu- nized for a year after receiving chemothera- py, they were nervous to send him to school in the chronically under-vaccinated Marin County. “We should fight for the liberty not just of those who don’t want to vaccine their kids, but for those who cannot,” said Republican Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R- Pleasanton, during Thursday’s floor debate. Two Republican assemblywomen joined the Democratic majority in support. The Senate already approved the bill once, but still must approve amendments before it is sent to Brown. The Senate could take up amendments as early as next week. Brown has not said whether he would sign the bill authored by Democratic senators Richard Pan of Sacramento and Ben Allen of Santa Monica. “The Governor believes that vaccinations are profoundly important and a major public health benefit and any bill that reaches his desk will be closely considered,” spokesman Evan Westrup said in an email that repeated Brown’s earlier statement. Opponents of the vaccine bill gathered on the Capitol steps after the vote, vowing to make their voices heard to the governor.

Republican lawmakers introduce revised federal drought relief bill

By Kevin Freking

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Republican members of California’s congressional delegation are tackling drought relief again with a wide- ranging bill introduced Thursday that attempts to speed up new water storage proj- ects and move more water through river pumps for farms and cities. The bill by Republican Congressman David Valadao of Hanford comes closer to what Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein pushed through the Senate last year, but there are also considerable differences. For example, the House bill scraps efforts to restore a Chinook salmon fishery in the San Joaquin River, which was the goal of a 2006 lawsuit settlement. Valadao said Congress needs to act because the consequences of California’s drought are spreading. “Inaction will result in the collapse of our domestic food supply,” he said. Valadao’s bill requires certain levels of

pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta unless reducing water flow is necessary to ensure the long-term survival of a species. The GOP proposal moves away from past efforts that called for running California’s two primary water distribution systems without taking requirements of the Endangered Species Act into account. Environmental advocates immediately rejected the proposal and Feinstein made clear that changes would be needed to get her support. “The drought bill introduced today in the House includes some useful provisions to increase the flexibility of water delivery as well as some provisions that would violate environmental law, which I’ve said many times I cannot support,” Feinstein said. California has suffered from extremely dry conditions since 2012, and the House has passed legislation in the previous two con- gressional sessions aimed at bringing more water to the state’s agricultural belt in the Central Valley. Those measures have stalled in the Senate.

Prosecutor: Fatal balcony collapse could bring manslaughter charges

By Paul Elias

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OAKLAND — Prosecutors said Thursday they have opened a criminal investigation into a fatal California balcony collapse that could lead to involuntary manslaugh- ter charges. However, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley declined to dis- cuss any possible target of her investiga- tion, saying it could end with no charges being filed. “We will ultimately have to make a deter- mination whether the facts support crimi-

nal charges and whether those facts can be proven beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law,” O’Malley said during a packed news conference at her Oakland office. Six students were killed last week, including five from Ireland, and seven oth- ers were injured when a balcony broke from the side of a Berkeley apartment building. O’Malley announced the criminal inves- tigation two days after city inspectors said the balcony was supported by wooden beams that had been badly rotted by water damage. City officials said at that time they would investigate no further.

6Friday • June 26, 2015

LOCAL/NATION

THE DAILY JOURNAL

Obituaries

Bozena ‘Bonnie’ Lukaszewicz

Bozena “Bonnie” Lukaszewicz died June 20, 2015, at age

73fromastroke.She died at Kaiser Permanente, South San Francisco as she had always wished, peacefully and surrounded by her family. Bozena was born Dec. 4, 1941, in Warsaw, Poland. She emigrated to the United States in 1958 with her mother Karolina and younger brother Thomas, settling in Buffalo, New York. On May 5, 1963, she married George Lukaszewicz, an architect, and had two sons, Gregory

and Paul. Bozena had studied to be a sur- gical technician when she first came to the United States and worked at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst, New York, for the majority of her career. She moved to California in 2000 to be closer to her children and grandchildren, eventually settling in San Carlos. After her husband George died in 2009, she devoted her time to world travel, spending time with her family and friends and vol- unteering. Bozena was a passionate person who lived her life with intensity and gumption. A funeral and memorial will be 2 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Skylawn Funeral Home. Bozena is survived by her brother, two sons, two daughters-in-law and five grandchil- dren.

Doris Ellen Golder

late of Millbrae and San Mateo

County resident since 1953, died at her home June 25,

Doris Ellen Golder,

2015.

Wife of the late Stanley Golder, mother of Doris Guzman, Tom Golder, Janet Rainey (her husband Dennis) and Sue Coke. Sister of David Green of New York, the late Virginia Lillian and the late Smith Green. Also survived by her grand- children Maria, Colleen, Tyler and Eric and great-grandchildren Elizabeth and Julian. A native of Broken Bow, Oklahoma,

age 95 years. A member and trustee of the Millbrae Historical Society, past president of the Millbrae Newcomers Club; including various other Millbrae activities, her most favorite pastime was traveling the world. Family and friends may visit after 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, at the Chapel of the Highlands, El Camino Real at 194 Millwood Drive in Millbrae. Funeral Service will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, also at the Chapel of the Highlands. Private family interment will be at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo. Her family appreciates donations to the charity of your choice.

As a public service, the Daily Journal prints obituaries of approximately 200 words or less with a photo one time on a space available basis. To submit obituaries, email infor- mation along with a jpeg photo to news@smdailyjour- nal.com. Free obituaries are edited for style, clarity, length and grammar. If you would like to have an obituary printed on a specific date, or more than once, or longer than 200 words or without editing, please submit an inquiry to our advertising department at news@smdailyjournal.com.

REUTERS

Hillary Clinton speaks at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials convention in Las Vegas.

State Dept.: Fifteen emails missing from Clinton cache

By Bradley Klapper and Matthew Lee

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The State Department cannot find in its records all or part of 15 work-related emails from Hillary Rodham Clinton’s pri- vate server that were released this week by a House panel investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, offi- cials said Thursday. The emails all predate the Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. diplomatic facility and include scant words written by Clinton herself, the officials said. They consist of more in a series of

would-be intelligence reports passed to her by longtime political confidant Sidney Blumenthal, the officials said. Nevertheless, the fact that the State Department says it can’t find them among emails she provided surely will raise new questions about Clinton’s use of a personal email account and server while secretary of state and whether she has provided the agency all of her work-related correspondence, as she claims. Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the Select Committee on Benghazi, released a statement Thursday saying, “This confirms doubts about the com- pleteness of Clinton’s self-selected public record and raises serious ques-

tions about her decision to erase her personal server — especially before it could be analyzed by an independent, neutral third-party arbiter.” When asked about the discrepancy, Nick Merrill, a Clinton campaign spokesman, said, “She has turned over 55,000 pages of materials to the State Department, including all emails in her possession from Mr. Blumenthal.” Clinton is running for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton’s use of the non-govern- mental email while in office was not publicly disclosed until earlier this year, after the committee sought her correspondence related to the Benghazi attack.

Christie to announce presidential run on Tuesday

By Jill Colvin

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is joining the 2016 presidential race and will make an offi- cial announcement Tuesday at his old high school, two people familiar with his plans told the Associated Press. The Republican leader of a Democratic stronghold has been lay- ing the groundwork for a White House run for months. In 2012, he decided against seeking the GOP nomination and challenging President Barack Obama. This time, he will not be a potential

front runner when he joins a field of more than a dozen major GOP candi- dates. Instead, Christie becomes one

among the several contenders trying to emerge from a crowd of senators,

businesspeople and oth-

ers. The people familiar with Christie’s plans spoke to the Associated Press on Thursday condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt Christie’s announcement. His plans were first reported by WNYC radio in New York. A spokes- woman for Christie’s political action committee did not immediately respond to telephone messages. Christie is a tough-talking former federal prosecutor, ever confident in his skills as a campaigner.

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THE DAILY JOURNAL

NATION

Friday • June 26, 2015

7

Hundreds attend funeralsforvictims of church shooting

By Jonathan Drew and Meg Kingnard

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A choir and band launched into one of Ethel Lance’s favorite gospel tunes and roused hundreds of mourners from their seats Thursday in a crescendo of music at the first funeral for victims of the massacre at a historic black church. People stood to clap, nod and sway — some closing their eyes under the exertion of the cathartic singing. Ushers walked through the aisles with boxes of tissues for people to dab their tears. An organ, drums and bass guitar pro- vided the rhythm. The service was fitting for the 70-year-old Charleston native with “an infectious smile,” who served with vigor as an officer at

the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the congrega- tion’s interim pastor said. “When it was time for the ushers to usher, she had the usher strut,” the Rev. Norvel Goff said. “When Sister Lance praised the Lord, you had to strap on your spiritual seat belt.” Police officers stood guard and checked bags as mourners filed in. Despite pleas to withhold debate until after the funerals, the South Carolina governor’s call to remove the Confederate flag from in front of the Statehouse in response to the killings was rever- berating around the South. Agrow- ing number of leading politicians said Civil War symbols should be removed from places of honor, despite their integral role as ele- ments of southern identity. Some authorities have worried openly about a backlash as people

REUTERS

Gary Washington stands over the casket of his mother, Ethel Lance, as she is buried at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church cemetery in North Charleston, S.C.

take matters into their own hands. “Black Lives Matter” was spray- painted on a monument to Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, only the latest statue to be defaced. On Tuesday and Wednesday, African-American churches in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Macon, Georgia

were intentionally set afire. But in Charleston, the early ges- tures of forgiveness by the vic- tims’ families toward a shooting suspect who embraced the Confederate flag set a healing tone that has continued through a series of unity rallies, drawing thou- sands of people intent on leaving no room for racial hate.

“A hateful, disillusioned young

man came into the church filled

and the reaction was

love,” Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said at the day’s second funeral, held for Sharonda Coleman- Singleton, 45. “He came in with symbols of division. The confed- erate battle flag is coming down off our state capitol.”

with hate

Supreme Court upholds key tool for fighting housing bias

By Sam Hananel

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday preserved a key tool used for more than four decades to fight housing discrimination, handing a surpris- ing victory to the Obama adminis-

tration and civil rights activists. The justices ruled 5-4 that federal housing law allows people to chal- lenge lending rules, zoning laws and other housing practices that have a harmful impact on minority groups, even if there is no proof that companies or government agencies intended to discriminate.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, in a rare vote on the side of civil rights groups on matters of race, joined the court’s four liberal members in upholding the use of so-called “disparate impact” cases. The ruling is a victory for hous- ing advocates who argued that the 1968 Fair Housing Act allows

challenges to race-neutral policies that have negative effects on minorities. The Justice Department has used disparate impact lawsuits to win more than $500 million in legal settlements from companies accused of bias against black and Hispanic cus- tomers.

It was a defeat for banks, insur- ance companies and other business groups that claimed such lawsuits — often based on statistics — are not explicitly allowed under the landmark housing law that sought to eliminate segregation that has long existed in residential hous- ing.

8 Friday • June 26, 2015

LOCAL/NATION

THE DAILY JOURNAL

Agency posts thousands of complaints against banks

By Jeff Horwitz and Ken Sweet

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released thousands of com- plaints Thursday from disgruntled customers of banks, credit card companies and other providers of financial services. The bureau posted a database of the griev- ances on its website over vehement protests from the financial industry. The database contains 7,700 complaints filed online by people who agreed to air their complaints publicly. The CFPB offers a disclaimer that it does not investigate the substance of the com- plaints before posting them. Some postings come with spelling errors, some with gratu- itous capitalization of words. The Bureau hopes the compilation of the grievances will point both it and the general public to the personal financial trouble spots of the day. The targets of the complaints vary widely, and include small debt collection companies as well as Wall Street giants. Among the complaints: U.S. Bank supposedly gave a Wisconsin parent’s young son a credit card with a $4,500 limit that he didn’t request, and a California couple reported finally catching up on mortgage payments to M&T bank, only to be told they were still a month in arrears. The database represents a small fraction of the 627,000 total complaints the bureau has received in the four years it’s been operating. The CFPB began offering the option of allowing people to publicly share their com- plaints in March. “We believe the disclosure of this informa- tion is one of the best tools government agencies can use to improve the operation of the marketplace,” said Richard Cordray, the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s director, calling the narratives “a valued edu- cational and shopping tool.” The public posting of the database is a sharp break from the traditional practices of other financial regulators. How and whether the data gets used, whether by fellow regula- tors, plaintiff’s attorneys or people shop- ping looking for a new bank, won’t become apparent for a while. For now, many people making complaints to the CFPB are choosing to share them. According to the Bureau, more than half of the people who’ve filed complaints since March chose to make them public. The individual grievances and the public database were created despite repeated protests from the financial services industry. The American Bankers Association, which has been against the database since the bureau proposed it last year, said the database would be “a purveyor of at best unsubstanti- ated, and potentially false, information.” “Today’s public disclosure of unverified consumer complaint narratives doesn’t advance that goal and may threaten consumer privacy,” the organization said. Credit reporting giant Experian, which has just over 21,000 complaints in the Bureau’s overall database, argued that the complaints would likely contain “inaccurate, mislead- ing, or even derogatory or offensive state- ments.” Consumer advocates supported the Bureau’s plan, praising the potential to lead researchers and regulators to newly emerging objectionable practices. In previous retail banking controversies, such as the practice of banks re-ordering daily debit card transactions to produce addi- tional overdraft penalties, people com- plained for years before regulators took notice.

Reporters’ notebook

T he Co as ts i de Fi s hi ng Cl ub is hosting a Hal i but and Stri per Fi s hi ng Derby Saturday, June

27, at Oy s ter Po i nt Mari na/ Park in South San Francisco. The family-friendly event offers cash prizes and fishing trips for those who reel in the best catch. For $40, participants 16 years and older will be able to compete receive a free meal. There will also be special participation prizes for younger fishers. Visit coast- sidefishingclub.com for more informa- tion and to register.

*** The Bus i nes s Des ti nati o ns Trav el Awards , now in its sixth year, has named the So uth San Franci s co Co nference Center as No rth Ameri ca’s Bes t Meeti ng and Co nference Center. The Business Destination Travel Awards gather together the leading lights in business travel — from airports and con- ference centers to luxury hotels and apart- ment complexes. The awards are voted for by business travelers from across the globe.

*** The city of San Bruno is accepting nominations for the 16th annual beautifi- cation awards, which honors well-kept properties throughout the city. This year, due to the drought, a new

award recognizing xeriscaping, or drought tolerant landscaping, has been added to the list or nominees, along with improved residential property, commer- cial or industrial property, group project and single-family residence. To apply, fill out the nomination page available on the city website and submit it to the Ci ty Cl erk’s Offi ce, or fax it to 589-7807. The deadline for nomina- tions is Friday, Aug. 28, and awards will be presented Oct. 13. For more informa- tion, call the city clerk at 616-7058, or Co unci l wo man Irene O’Co nnel l at

589-9985.

*** Phase two of the $12.8 million mainte- nance dredging at the Po rt o f Redwo o d Ci ty ’s Redwo o d Creek channel by the U. S. Army Co rps o f Eng i neers ’ con- tractors is underway, and by the time phase three is completed this winter, the port’s navigation channel will be dredged to its authorized depth of 30 feet for the first time since December 2009. The first phase dredged the channel to 28 feet and was completed last December.

The Reporters’ Notebook is a weekly collection of facts culled from the notebooks of the Daily Journal staff. It appears in the Friday edition.

Man sentenced to year in jail for injuring three in DUI crash

A man who hit three cars while driving in Menlo Park before crashing into an electrical box in Palo Alto in January pleaded no contest Wednesday to felony drunk driving causing injury, prosecutors said Thursday. Daniel Gere, 74, was then sentenced by Judge Leland Davis to a year in jail and five years probation. He is not allowed to drink during his probation and his driver’s license was revoked, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors had initially sought a sen- tence of three years in state prison for the series of crashes that injured three people on Jan. 3. The first crash happened in the parking

Local brief

lot of the Safeway store at 525 El Camino Real at about 7:30 p.m., according to prosecutors. Gere backed into a Range Rover parked there twice and then drove south on El Camino Real. He collided with two cars at a stoplight at El Camino Real and Cambridge Avenue, injuring three people. None of the injuries were serious, prosecutors said. Gere kept driving, finally crashing into an electrical box in Palo Alto. Menlo Park police found him there, injured and intoxi- cated, and took him to a hospital. At the hospital, he admitted he had been drinking vodka. Prosecutors said when asked why he fled the collisions, Gere told investigators, “Why do you care? Everyone is full of insurance.”

Do You Suffer From Dry Eyes?

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THE DAILY JOURNAL

OPINION

Friday • June 26, 2015

9

We knocked but no one answered

By Herb Perez

T he issue of overcrowded schools in Foster City remains paramount to quality of place and quality of life

our families demand. The signiﬁcance of this issue cannot be understated and it is my opinion that the unwillingness of school Superintendent Cynthia Simms and current board President Audrey Ng to meet with the Foster City Council to discuss our residents’ issues in details to fully under- stand and better be able to address this issue has continued to fracture the already tenuous relationship. Requests for a joint meeting of the city councils of Foster City and San Mateo and the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District Board of Trustees were denied unilaterally by Simms and Ng. This denial occurred without the knowledge of several board members. The need for a pub- lic discussion cannot be underestimated since one of the seemingly preferred options of the Next Steps Committee is to build a new school on Charter Square Shopping Plaza in Foster City. When this proposal was brought forward, it was met with tremendous opposition from a cross section of residents. By way of an update, the City Council has scheduled a closed session 7 a.m. Monday, June 29, to discuss a request by the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary

School District for real property negotiations regarding Charter Square. This meeting will be closed to the public and will be only among our city staff and our council. While we as a city do not have any legal

responsibility or ability to build schools we certainly do have a moral, ethical and ﬁduciary responsibility to cooperate with the entity charged with this mandate. Simply stated, we as elected ofﬁcials who represent the families of Foster City should use our best efforts and resources to create the best educational experience we can to the betterment of our community and ﬁnancial well-being. There are many issues that cross city and county lines that we use our best efforts to be part of a multi-jurisdictional solution. We are part of countywide animal protec- tion services, library services, shared ﬁre services and gang task force stafﬁng. We participate in these programs to reduce the cost of providing these services and to serve as part of a holistic solution to the betterment of all those involved. In each and every case mentioned, the solution started with a dialogue about what was pos- sible and what solutions might be avail- able if we all worked together. Dialogue yields better solutions that soliloquy. The purpose of a joint public meeting

Guest

perspective

was to bring all concerned elected ofﬁcials together in a public forum and in compli- ance of the Brown Act. This will allow the public to be engaged and listen to the thought processes of the group. Perhaps more importantly, the concerns of our com- munity could be heard and voiced to the elected ofﬁcials. Whether such a meeting would have had a material effect on the out- come of the school district’s process, deliberation and/or preferred solutions, we will never know. The Foster City Council used its best efforts to open a public dialogue about our overcrowded schools. Unfortunately, we knocked, but ultimately no door was opened. I believe that our families now need to use their voice to reach the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District board and share their views about the proposed solutions that may or may not end up as a bond initiative this November. Our city needs your help.

Herb Perez is a member of the Foster City Council. He can be reached at 468-3143 and hperez@fostercity.org.

Letters to the editor

Foster City needs schools, but not at the expense of local businesses

Editor, I am writing to express my concern over the proposal to build a new school at the location of the Charter Square Shopping Center. The issue of school overcrowding in Foster City is important, and the quality of life in our city is reduced when our chil- dren have to go to school in San Mateo than closer to home. The Next Steps Committee has attempted to come up with solutions for this problem, but unfortu- nately most of the solutions they propose are problematic. I live a short walk from Charter Square, and it is the closest complex to my home. My wife, my dog and I visit Charter Square’s restaurants, stores and post ofﬁce several times a week. The reduction in the number of local businesses caused by this proposal would be a signiﬁcant loss to the nearby neighborhoods, and the number of businesses my neighbors and I could easily walk to would be signiﬁcantly reduced. The original vision for Foster City was that everyone should be able to walk to a school, a park and a shopping center. While retail patterns have changed over time, there is still a strong need for neigh- borhood shops and restaurants within walking distance of our homes. One of the things that made me want to live in Foster

City was its walkability. Walkable commu- nities are healthier communities and should be encouraged. I hope that our elected ofﬁcials and the public will work together to ﬁnd better solutions to the important problem of school overcrowding.

Charlie Tomberg

Foster City

Confederate flag

Editor, The divide between the southern states and the balance of the United States has grown in recent years. It is good to see the southern conservative politicians falling all over themselves to rush the ﬂag symbol of The Confederacy and slavery into the museums. Where have they been for the past 100 years? And, we have not even heard from Rick Perry, Bobbie Jindal and some others. What took Walmart from Arkansas so long to discontinue selling the Confederate ﬂag? Didn’t they know the history of slavery and the Confederacy? It is good that they don’t sell Nazi ﬂags with swastikas either.

San Mateo, spend your money more wisely

Editor, Here it comes. San Mateo friends are sharing that they are beginning to get emails and phone calls, taking their pulse about paying for the infrastructure to sup- port all this new housing. This includes a ballot measure to build more school space and a ballot measure to extend Measure L. San Mateo has one of the highest sales tax rates in the United States and our ﬁscal situ- ation has greatly improved since the 2009 installation of Measure L, yet residents will be squeezed for more. Wasn’t Measure L a stop-gap measure to address speciﬁc budget shortfalls? Shouldn’t we expect our city to be manag- ing things so “temporary” measures can be temporary? I’m all for good schools and paying police, ﬁreﬁghters, etc. But some- one has got to be doing some better plan- ning when the city is reaping funds from all the newly approved housing, yet can’t even ﬁnd the money to pave our 18 miles of failed roads without another handout from us.

Tom Elliott

Lisa Taner

San Mateo

San Mateo

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The trouble with toll,carpool lanes

I don’t log enough freeway miles to have a lot of experience with carpool lanes. Most times when I encounter

them, I’m either outside the time period or with enough family members to use them. It’s the beneﬁt of living close to where I work. However, I hear enough from oth- ers who encounter them regularly to know there is def- inite mixed feel- ings about them. And the mix is more on the side of against them. The idea is to encourage people to share cars dur- ing commute hours so there are fewer cars on the road and more people can travel with ease. If four people who live in the same area work in the same area, they can share a car. However, that may work with Dagwood or when there was a central place where everyone worked, but our area is more complicated with other factors. Some people work in San Francisco and live on the Peninsula. Some people live in San Francisco and work on the Peninsula. Some people work a traditional 9 to 5, most others don’t, or have too many meet- ings or work crises to adhere to a certain schedule. From what I understand, carpool lanes work well in theory but not in reality. People still use their cars. And on the Peninsula, the main public transit alterna- tive is Caltrain, which is now always crowded and sometimes delayed because of various factors. And then there is the “last mile problem” in that people don’t neces- sarily live or work right next to a Caltrain station and are forced to ﬁnd a way to get to their home or work on their own, well, feet. So when it was revealed last week that the City/County Association of Governments was studying the possibility of adding car- pool lanes to Highway 101 from Redwood City to San Bruno, I was concerned. I was alarmed when I learned the study included toll lanes at the same stretch. Toll lanes would mean single drivers could opt to pay extra to use the carpool lane, which would not only add trafﬁc to it, but is inherently classist. So those who could afford to use the carpool lane won’t be stuck in trafﬁc, but those who can’t afford it can’t? Another part of the study is for the addi- tion of auxiliary lanes from Oyster Point in South San Francisco to San Francisco. That makes sense. Auxiliary lanes have the abil- ity to ease congestion by allowing short- distance drivers to stay in them from one exit to the next. It also allows for a longer merge so trafﬁc can run smoother. Carpool lanes, however, are one of those things that sound good in theory but don’t work well in reality. And when it comes to Highway 101, already stymied by cars because of the economic boom, it’s not good to mess with something that’s already on the precipice of gridlock. If we lived in an area with more affordable public transit options with more east-west connections and more regular service, and we also had workers with more traditional schedules, work locations and home loca- tions, then tinkering with the psychology of drivers might be a worthwhile plan. Carpool lanes might just be a thing of the past, and it would be best to ﬁgure out other transportation “solutions.” Toll lanes are an idea that should never get off the ground. There is already enough tension between the haves and the have-nots in this area. Why add to that? So while it is just a study, the study will cost money, to the tune of about $16.5 mil- lion in grants. That money would be better spent on ﬁnding other solutions. Auxiliary lanes work. Carpool lanes don’t. Toll lanes shouldn’t even be thought of.

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdai- lyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jon- mays.

10 Friday • June 26, 2015

BUSINESS

THE DAILY JOURNAL

Stocks slip as investors balance Greece, consumer spending

Dow

17,890.36

-75.71

10-Yr Bond

2.39

+0.02

Nasdaq

5,112.19

-10.22

Oil (per barrel)

59.63

S&P 500

2,102.31

-6.27

Gold

1,172.30

Big movers

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market:

NYSE

Eli Lilly and Co., up $2.54 to $84.80

A British court upheld a patent protecting a vitamin regimen

administered with the drug developer’s cancer treatment Alimta. Lindsay Corp., up $7.08 to $89.70 The irrigation and road equipment maker reported better-than-expected ﬁscal third-quarter proﬁt and revenue. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., up 24 cents to $6.40 The New York Post reported that the media company is the target of other potential bidders following its announced deal with Sequential Brands. Methode Electronics Inc., down $11.69 to $31.38 The maker of electrical components for the auto and computer industries reported worse-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. Nasdaq Herman Miller Inc., up 32 cents to $30.30 The furniture maker reported a fourth-quarter proﬁt,beatingWall Street expectations,and raised its dividend payment. Cree Inc., down $3.05 to $27.51 The LED lighting company said it will restructure its LED products business and lowered its forecast for the fourth quarter. Winnebago Industries Inc., up $1.87 to $22.57 The recreational vehicle maker reported better-than-expected ﬁscal third-quarter proﬁt. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc., up 54 cents to $12.44 The biopharmaceutical company and partner Baxter International Inc. received priority review for a potential cancer treatment.

By Ken Sweet

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Stocks edged lower Thursday as talks over keeping Greece solvent stalled and got extended into the weekend. Health care stocks rose sharply after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s insurance subsi- dies. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 75.71 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,890.36. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 6.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,102.31 and the Nasdaq composite fell 10.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,112.19. Stocks had been flat to slightly higher the first half of the day. But that momentum was soon lost and Greece worries turned the market lower in the early afternoon. The bitter standoff between Greece and its international creditors was extended into the weekend, days before Athens has to meet a crucial debt deadline which could decide whether it defaults on its debt and has to drop out of the euro. A key meeting of eurozone finance ministers broke up Thursday without agreement on Greece’s rescue pack- age, intensifying doubts about whether Athens can make a 1.6 bil- lion euro ($1.8 billion) debt payment

“It’s fair to say markets have been somewhat complacent

about the risk related to Greece, and it’s all coming to a

head

It could cause some volatility next week.”

— Ben Mandel, a global strategist at JPMorgan Multi-Asset Solutions

to the International Monetary Fund that is due Tuesday. An agreement on a drastic Greek tax and austerity reform package is neces- sary for creditors to unfreeze 7.2 bil- lion euros (8.1 billion dollars) in bailout money. Greece has a small economy and its debt problems have been long known by investors. However, the possibili- ties of destabilizing the euro and the implications of a country defaulting on its debt have weighed on investors for months now. “It’s fair to say markets have been somewhat complacent about the risk related to Greece, and it’s all coming to a head now,” said Ben Mandel, a global strategist at JPMorgan Multi- Asset Solutions. “It could cause some volatility next week.” Health care stocks, especially hos- pital operators, rose sharply after the Supreme Court upheld the nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. The ruling will preserve health insurance for millions of Americans who are not covered under state-owned exchanges.

Humana rose 7 percent, HCA Holdings rose 9 percent, Tenet Healthcare rose 12 percent and Cigna rose 2 percent. U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.40 percent from 2.37 percent the day before. In the energy markets, the price of oil fell on continuing concerns that high supplies of gasoline and diesel will keep a lid on crude demand. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 57 cents to close at $59.70 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for interna- tional oils used by many U.S. refiner- ies, fell 29 cents to close at $63.20 in London. In other futures trading on the NYMEX, wholesale gasoline fell 1.9 cents to close at $2.037 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1.4 cents to close at $1.862 a gallon. Natural gas rose 9.1 cents to close at $2.850 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gold fell $1.10 to $1,171.80 an ounce, silver fell four cents to $15.81 an ounce and copper was flat at $2.62 a pound.

Google’s new self-driving cars cruising Silicon Valley roads

By Michael Liedtke

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — The latest mod- els of Google’s self-driving cars are now cruising the streets near the Internet company’s Silicon Valley headquarters as an ambitious project to transform the way people get around shifts into its next phase. This marks the first time that the pod- like, two seat vehicles have been allowed on public roads since Google unveiled the next generation of its self- driving fleet more than a year ago. The cars had previously been confined to a private track located on a former Air Force base located about 120 miles southeast of San Francisco. Google announced last month that it would begin testing the curious-looking cars last month, but hadn’t specified the timing until Tuesday when it disclosed

the vehicles are driving up to 25 miles per hour on the roads around its Mountain View office. Google had installed its robotic driv- ing technology in Lexus sports utility vehicles during the first few years of testing before developing the smaller prototype. The new models are designed to work without a steering wheel or brake pedal, although the vehicles will be equipped with those features during the initial runs on public roads. A human will also ride in the cars to take control in emergencies, just as has been the case with the self-driving Lexus vehicles during the past six years. The debut of the pod-like car will help Google get a better understanding on how well its technology works around other vehicles steered by people. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles have given Google permission to send up to 25 of its latest self-driving

cars on neighborhood roads. If all goes well, Google hopes to gain regulatory clearance to remove the steering wheel, brake pedal and emer- gency driver from the prototype. Company executives have expressed hope that self-driving cars using its technology will be joining the flow of daily traffic by the end of this decade. The earlier models of Google’s self- driving cars had been involved in 13 minor accidents through more than 1.8

million miles on the roads, according to the company. Google blamed the colli- sions on other vehicles in every instance except one when the company says one of its own employees was steering. Motorists who encounter Google’s latest self-driving car while they are in Mountain can share their experience with the company at

http://www.google.com/selfdriving-

car/contact/ .

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Business briefs

McDonald’s: Fewer Happy Meal orders opting for soda

NEW YORK — McDonald’s says fewer people are picking soda for Happy Meals after it stopped listing the drinks as an option on its menu boards. The world’s biggest hamburger chain said Thursday 48 per- cent of Happy Meals orders chose soda as a beverage in the U.S. after it was scrubbed from menus and marketing materi- als between July of last year and May. That’s down from 56 percent in the year-ago period. “I would expect that this would continue to go down,” said Julia Braun, director of nutrition at McDonald’s. The results were noted in a report commissioned by McDonald’s Corp. to track its progress on a pledge made in late 2013 with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which was founded by the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. The pledge is part of a push by McDonald’s to quiet critics who say it serves junk food and peddles unhealthy choices to children. Shaking that reputation is particularly important for McDonald’s, whose courtship of parents and children over the decades helped make it an industry leader.

Univision dropping Miss USA pageant over Trump comments

NEW YORK — A Univision network is dropping the Miss USA pageant and the company says it will cut all business ties with Donald Trump in a spiraling controversy over com- ments the Republican presidential candidate made recently about Mexican immigrants. Univision said Thursday it would pull the plug on its Spanish-language coverage of the pageant July 12 by its UniMas network. It also has severed its business relation- ship with the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss USA pageant, due to what it called “insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants” by Trump, a part owner of Miss Universe. During his presidential campaign kickoff speech last week, Trump portrayed immigrants from Mexico as “bring- ing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.” He also called for building a wall along the southern border of the U.S. The remarks drew con- demnation from the Mexican government as “biased and absurd.”

California court says‘sweepstakes’games are illegal

SAN FRANCISCO — Computerized “sweepstakes” games offered at special Internet cafes are the equivalent of slot machines that are illegal under state law, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The court said the sweepstakes are games of chance because customers have no way to influence the unpredictable out- come. “When the user, by some means (here swiping a card or entering a number), causes the machine to operate, and then plays a game to learn the outcome, which is governed by chance, the user is playing a slot machine,” Associate Justice Ming Chin wrote for the court.

A’S ON A ROLL: OAKLAND SWEEPS TEXAS FOR FIFTH WIN IN A ROW >> PAGE 12

<<< Page 12, U.S. women’s offense to

be tested by defensive-minded China

Friday • June 26, 2015

BOB DONNAN/USA TODAY SPORTS

Karl-AnthonyTowns averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game during his frehman season at Univesity of Kentucky. He was drafted No. 1 by Minnesota.

UK’s Towns goes No. 1 to Minnesota

With the 30th pick,Golden State drafts UCLA power forward Kevon Looney

By Brian Mahoney

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

— Timberwolves got their man in the middle. The Lakers got a playmaking partner for Kobe Bryant. Knicks fans just got mad — though not for long. Minnesota selected Kentucky’s Karl- Anthony Towns with the first pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night, the first of three straight freshmen chosen before New York chose Latvian forward Kristaps

Minnesota

NEW

YORK

The

Porzingis, triggering loud, long boos from their fans inside Barclays Center. They were cheering later in the first round when the Knicks acquired the rights to Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant from Atlanta for Tim Hardaway Jr. Before that, the Timberwolves went for a center in their first time owning the No. 1 pick. They can add him to a young roster featuring Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins, who was picked first last year by Cleveland and later dealt to Minnesota in the Kevin Love trade. Towns’ selection wasn’t a surprise —

though he said he didn’t know until it was announced. “When Mr. Adam Silver came out, I saw him, and he said, ‘with the No. 1 pick’, I was racing,” said Towns, who was sitting with Kentucky coach John Calipari. “I told Coach Cal before when he first came out that I was trying to drink the water and I was shaking uncontrollably, and I told him, ‘Coach, don’t give me the ball right now for the last-second shot. I wouldn’t make it.”’ The Los Angeles Lakers then took guard

See DRAFT, Page 14

Offense breaking out

Giants have scored 19 runs in their last two games at AT&T Park

By Rick Eymer

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Belt found another gear on the bases, and compared himself to a long-legged jungle animal. The speedy Giants hit four triples in a game for the first time in 55 years, including a pair by Belt in a 13-8 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday. “When I can sniff a triple, I’m going to turn it on,” Belt said. “I will do whatever I have to do, use my giraffe strides, to get to third base.” Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy also tripled for San Francisco, which had not tripled four times in a game since Sept. 15, 1960, when Willie Mays hit three of them and Eddie Bressoud had one at Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium. The Giants had not accomplished the feat at home since Hack Wilson and Ross Youngs had two triples each against the Boston Braves at New York’s Polo Grounds on June 28, 1924, according to STATS. Buster Posey and Gregor Blanco each had three RBIs for the Giants, who built a 7-0 lead by the sixth and won for the fifth time in seven games. San Francisco has won consecutive home games for the first time since May 28-29. “It was great to see Belt, Crawford and Angel (Pagan) too,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We needed it, too. The good thing is when they scored, we came back and scored too. It’s good to get the bats going, and off a tough pitch- er, too. We haven’t had a game like this for a while.”

See GIANTS, Page 16

KELLEY L. COX/USA TODAY SPORTS

Brandon Crawford rounds third and heads home to score in the fourth inning of the Giants’ xx-x win over San Diego.The win gives San Francisco the series victory.

Pro team makes history with first openly gay player

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SONOMA — Baseball history was made Thursday on a field of wistful dreams in Northern California wine country when the sport’s first openly gay active professional started the game as a pitcher. Sean Conroy, 23, took the mound for the Sonoma Stompers, a 22-man team that is part of the independent Pacific Association of Baseball Clubs. The atmosphere at the ballpark was low-key, with no obvious signs it was a historic night or even a gay-pride-themed game except for the rain- bow-striped socks and arm

warmers some players — but not Conroy — wore. Conroy walked his first batter and struck out his second. The Stompers recruited the upstate NewYork native out of college in May. General Manager Theo Fightmaster says Conroy privately shared his sexual orientation with teammates and management before agreeing to come out publicly in time for the team’s home field gay pride night. “The first conversation I had with Sean was, ‘I want you to know this organization sup- ports you, we respect who you are. We respect who you (are) as a pitcher and a person and to whatever degree you want your story told, we’ll help facilitate that,” Fightmaster said. “His goal has always been to be the first openly gay baseball player, so he was very much in favor of telling the story, of carrying that torch,” Fightmaster said. Major League Baseball historian John Thorn confirmed that Conroy is the first active professional to come out as gay. Glenn Burke, an outfielder for the A’s and Dodgers, and Billy Bean, a utility player with the Tigers, Dodgers andPadres, came out after they retired. “Of course that over the years there have

Sean Conroy

See CONROY, Page 14

12 Friday • June 26, 2015

SPORTS

THE DAILY JOURNAL

A’s complete sweep of Rangers

By Stephen Hawkins

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARLINGTON, Texas — Oakland right-hander Sonny Gray wins at Texas even when he’s not at his best. Gray and the Athletics benefited from a big two-out hit by Sam Fuld, three RBIs from Josh Reddick and another solid outing from the bullpen for a 6-3 victory Thursday to complete

a three-game series sweep. “This is the kind of run we need to stay on,” Reddick said. “We’ve gotten to a point where we’re clicking on all cylinders.” The A’s have won a season-best five games in

a row, and nine of 11. Gray (9-3) struck out seven and walked one while allowing three runs over six innings, improving to 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA in his five road starts against the Rangers. The right-han- der had given up only one run in 31 1-3 innings the previous four starts, including two shutouts last season. Reddick, who had a tying sac fly in the sixth, added a two-run single with two outs in the sev- enth after Ben Zobrist drew a bases-loaded walk off Sam Freeman to break a 3-3 tie. That was after Gray had thrown the last of his 92 pitches and given up nine hits on a hot day in Texas. A’s manager Bob Melvin said he got

no argument from the righty about taking him out. “He knewit was the right thing,” Melvin said. “He battles himself sometimes. He can be as tough on him- self as opposed to battling the opponent, and there are periods during the season

when you just don’t feel completely locked in, which is odd to hear about him.” Tyler Clippard, the fourth Oakland pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances. He hadn’t pitched since Saturday and Sunday, when he was the first A’s reliever since 1996 with saves of three or more outs on con- secutive days. Oakland is headed home for a weekend series against the Royals. They had a contentious series in Kansas City in April when the benches cleared in all three games. Mitch Moreland had three hits for Texas, which has lost five in a row for the first time under new manager Jeff Banister. Moreland’s ninth homer led off the fourth, an inning before his RBI single. Texas starter Colby Lewis had walked only two batters his previous 33 innings before three

Josh Reddick

walks in the fifth to load the bases. The A’s then tied the game at 2 on No. 9 hitter Fuld’s two-out, two-run single on a full-count pitch. Oakland loaded the bases again with three consecutive singles, two of them infieldhits, to start the sixth. Reddick had a sac fly before Lewis’100th andfinal pitch, a grounder that ric- ocheted off his foot to second baseman Rougned Odor for an inning-ending 1-4-3 putout. “I flat just let them back in the ballgame and

That’s basically what

beat myself in the

happened,” Lewis said. “It’s solely on myself. I got in a 3-2 count with Fuld there and threw three fastballs right in same spot and he wound up hitting it. That might have sparked them a little bit.” Keone Kela (4-5) got the first two outs of the seventh before consecutive singles and giving way to Freeman, who failed to retire any of the

three batters he faced.

Up next

Athl eti cs : Oakland goes home for 10 games, part of a stretch playing 15 of 18 games at home. The exception was the series in Texas. Jesse Hahn, 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA his past six starts, is scheduled to pitch Friday against Kansas City.

ALTOONA, Pa. — A Penn State Altoona softball player is discussing a plea deal with prosecutors on assault charges for hitting a batter with a pitch during practice. 20-year-old Katelynn Burge faces one

count of misdemeanor simple assault and harassment, The Altoona Mirror reported. Burge, a sophomore last season, is accused of hitting her teammate in retalia- tion at a practice in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in April. University police said Burge suspected her teammate snitched on a coach for allegedly violating the school’s alcohol policy. It’s not clear whether the teammate reported any wrongdoing or whether the coach violated any policy.

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Science And Religion?

By Paul Larson

MILLBRAE – Some say that science and religion don’t mix. Some say that science is the ultimate search for God. Some say religion supersedes science, some say both have equal stature and others say both are hogwash. Everyone has their own personal assessment of the correlation between science and religion. The aspiration of religion along with the aspiration of science is to explain the universe and answer questions about life, in addition to satisfying human psychological needs when dealing with the realities of death. Religion is based on faith, science is based on observation, and both are based on human curiosity and the need to find answers. Whether a person is repetitively reading religious scripture, or fascinated by repeatable scientific experimentations, both are searching for methods that answer questions about the universe around us. It can be debated that early humans turned to religion as a way to alleviate their fears and gain reassurance with the concept of life after death. This helped to give them a sense of order in a confusing world that often seemed mysterious. Eventually scientific realization evolved along side religion and the process of “trial and error” established itself as a way to solve some of these mysteries. Fire…the wheel…farming. The more humans observed the world they lived in, the more they leaned how the natural world worked and how they could manipulate it to their advantage. Over the centuries religious power came at odds with scientific discovery, which led to a period of

scientific stagnation: “The Dark Ages”. Later at the dawn of “The Renaissance” science was again embraced leading to great advances in art, architecture, medicine, astronomy and other natural sciences. Over

the ages science and religion have been evolving together on a roller coaster ride of acceptance, denial and equilibrium. We now appear to be at a crossroads where religion is not only viewing science with an evaluative broadmindedness, but is exploring hand in hand with scientific processes. One prime example is the Vatican’s “Pontifical Academy of

today

eminent scientists are members… a visible

sign… of the profound harmony that can exist between the truths of science and the

”. of Genetics, was an Augustinian Friar. Georges Lemaitre, who developed much of the Big Bang Theory, was a Belgian priest. Recently, Pope Francis, who has a Master’s Degree in Chemistry, insisted that there is no reason to believe that science and God are incompatible. With all this in mind, every human being is unique as a fingerprint, and every human brain has its own unique consciousness. Whether you analyze with your religious cap or your science cap, matrimony between the two could be found by looking inward. So, close your eyes, examine your deep thoughts, and you may detect a rational enlightenment finely attuned to both. If you ever wish to discuss cremation, funeral matters or want to make pre- planning arrangements please feel free to call me and my staff at the CHAPEL OF THE HIGHLANDS in Millbrae at (650) 588-5116 and we will be happy to guide you in a fair and helpful manner. For more info you may also visit us on the internet at:

Gregor Mendel, the father

truths of faith

Sciences”. Quoting John Paul II: “

www.chapelofthehighlands.com.

“Things like this shouldn’t happen,” said Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio, adding that “when coaches don’t do the right thing, sometimes other people get in trouble for it.” The victim was warned by a teammate that “everyone knows” she was the whistle- blower when she arrived for practice. The friend told her she should leave, but the vic- tim stayed and took her turn at the plate. Police said the ball hit the victim in the

left shoulder, then Burge said: “That was for (the coach that was reported).” The player was not significantly hurt and continued batting practice. Burge allegedly said she intentionally threw at the victim when confronted by interim head coach Jeff McNelis, but she told police the ball slipped out of her hand. Burge’s attorney, Brian Jones, said any- one who steps into a batter’s box assumes the risk of getting hit.

THE DAILY JOURNAL

SPORTS

Friday • June 26, 2015

13

Pressure on Morgan to step up her scoring

By Anne M. Peterson

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OTTAWA, Ontario — The last time the United States played China in the Women’s World Cup was in the 1999 final at the Rose Bowl, when the Americans won on penalty kicks for their second title and Brandi Chastain famously ripped off her jersey. The teams meet again Friday night, with the winner advancing to a semifinal against top-ranked Germany or No. 3 France, and the Americans still are seeking their third title. The United States has a 24-game unbeaten streak against China dating to 2003. After scoring just six goals in their first four games, the Americans look to Alex Morgan for offense. The 25-year-old star forward was sidelined by a bone bruise in her left knee from April 11 until June 8, made her first start of the tournament in the group- stage finale against Nigeria and scored her first goal in Monday’s 2-0 round-of-16 win over Colombia. “I feel better and better each game,” Morgan said. “I’m seeing my speed, my change of direction, my shot coming back. It feels good and hopefully in the next games it will feel great.” The Americans will be missing midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday, sus- pended because of yellow card accumulation. Morgan Brian, 22, and 26-year-old Christen Press are likely to take their spots in the starting lineup against China. Rapinoe has been one of the most creative and dangerous players in Canada, while Holiday has been steady and dependable.

ERICH SCHLEGEL/USA TODAY SPORTS

U.S. striker Alex Morgan scores against Colombia for her first goal of the 2015 Women’sWorld Cup. With two key midfielders out for the Americans, Morgan will have to be one player to pick up the slack.

“They’re definitely both incredible play- ers, great for our team. They’re going to be missed, for sure,” fellow midfielder Carli Lloyd said. “But it is what it is. We kind of

have to get on with it. We can’t really dwell on the fact we won’t have them out on the field.” China coach Hao Wei was peppered with questions Thursday about whether the team was seeking revenge — either for that 1999 loss or the winless streak. “I don’t think it is vengeance or anything like that,” Hao said. “It is just a match. We just have our usual mindset about the game.”

The replacements

Coach Jill Ellis has said Brian will likely replace Holiday in the middle of the midfield alongside Lloyd, while it’s widely expected Press will start in Rapinoe’s left flank spot. Brian is the youngest player on the U.S. team. “Mo has played significant minutes in our games,” Ellis said. “We’ve partnered her specifically with Carli and Lauren at times so she could be confident in that position. She’s a tremendous ball distributor, good on services, so we have other options there for us.” Ellis could slide Tobin Heath to the left flank and use Press on the right. Press start- ed against Australia in the team’s World Cup opener and scored a goal. Veteran Heather O’Reilly is also avail- able.

Scouting China

China advanced to the knockout stage by finishing second to host Canada in Group A. After falling 1-0 to the Canadians on Christine Sinclair’s penalty kick in second- half stoppage time, China beat the

Netherlands and played a 2-2 draw with New Zealand. Wang ShanShan scored early and 16th- ranked China hung on to defeat Cameroon 1- 0 last Saturday to open the elimination round. A number of players from the U.S. team attended the match at Commonwealth Stadium. China has played in the World Cup six times but missed out four years ago in Germany. The Steel Roses have never won a title.

The U.S. path

The United States defeatedAustralia 3-1 in the tournament opener, with Rapinoe scor- ing twice. Then came a scoreless draw with fifth-ranked Sweden, one of the top matches of the group stage, before a 1-0 victory over Nigeria to finish atop Group D. The U.S. faced No. 26 Colombia to open the knock- out stage, winning 2-0 but scoring only in the second half when Colombia was a player down. Abby Wambach missed a penalty kick during the match.

Looking ahead

The winner will make the short trip to Montreal’s Olympic Stadium for a semifinal Tuesday. Tenth-ranked Australia, which upset No. 7 Brazil in the round of 16, will face defending champion Japan, ranked fourth, in a quarter- final match Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta. Host Canada, ranked eighth, plays No. 6 England in Vancouver, British Columbia. The winners will face off in the semifinals in Edmonton on Wednesday.

Watson leads U.S. Senior Open after first round

By Antonio Gonzalez

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO — Tom Watson has accomplished more in golf than most play- ers ever will. The 65-year-old nearly pulled off a feat Thursday even he had never done:

shoot his age in a major championship. So what if it’s the senior tour? Watson took advantage of cooler morning conditions to shoot a 4-under 66, grabbing a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the sun-banked U.S. Senior Open. All that prevented Watson from matching his age on the scorecard was a 35-foot putt on his final hole. “Man, did I want to make that putt. I was

Tom Watson

grinding on that putt more than any putt in a long time,” Watson said. “Shoot my age in a U.S. Open championship? That would have been pretty special.” Instead, the putt stopped short and he set- tled for par — about the

only thing that didn’t work out well for Watson over his final nine holes. With the temperature soaring over 100 degrees in the afternoon, Watson worked through Del Paso Country Club before the

scorching heat in California’s capital city intensified. The eight-time major champion

overcame an early double bogey and had four birdies in a six-hole stretch after the turn. “It shows these great old champs are great old champs for a reason,” said Michael Allen, among a group of players who shot

67.

Allen was joined by Lee Janzen, Jeff Hart, Jim Carter, P.H. Horgan and Woody Austin. Defending champion Colin Montgomerie and Champions Tour stalwart Bernhard Langer, who have won six of the last seven senior majors, teed off in the afternoon heat

— and also had to deal with firmer and faster greens. Montgomerie shot 68, and Langer

71.

But this day belonged to one of the most decorated players in golf history, one whose

storied career is about to take a major shift. Watson will play in his final British Open next month at St. Andrews. He’s the only man to claim the claret jug on five courses (but never St. Andrews). While one chapter of his career is closing, another seems just fine. Watson is one of the biggest draws on the Champions Tour — when he plays, that is — along with 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, who withdrew earlier this week with a back injury. Watson has won 14 times on the Champions Tour, which is reserved for those 50 and older. His last victory came at the 2011 Senior PGA Championship at

See SENIORS, Page 15

14 Friday • June 26, 2015

SPORTS

THE DAILY JOURNAL

Warriors draft UCLA PF Kevon Looney

By Michael Wagaman

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors drafted UCLA forward Kevon Looney with the 30th and final pick of the first round. Six days after the parade celebrating their first NBAchampionship in 40 years left city streets awash in blue and gold confetti, the Warriors added the 6-foot-9, 220-pound Looney with their first draft pick in three years. Because Golden State had one of the deep- est teams in the NBA last season — a squad built largely through the draft — the Warriors had the luxury of drafting a player

Kevon Looney

without the need for him to make an immediate impact. Looney averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds during his only season at UCLA. Looney led all college freshmen with 15 double-doubles while helping the Bruins to the

Sweet 16. Golden State didn’t have a selection in either 2013 or ‘14, having traded the picks away. One of those trades resulted in the Warriors getting Andre Iguodala, who was the MVP of the NBAFinals during the team’s

championship run. Looney, who played power forward with

the Bruins, is a physical rebounder who can also score from the perimeter. He was UCLA’s best 3-point shooter last season when he shot 41.5 percent from beyond the arc. That should make him a good fit with Golden State’s Splash Brothers — guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry, the NBA regular-season MVP, broke his own NBA record for 3-pointers this season with

286.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was certainly relaxed while waiting more than three hours until Golden State made its pick. At one

point he walked by where the media was assembled wearing blue shorts and a gray team T-shirt. There had been speculation that Golden State might try to trade forward David Lee in a draft-day move, but nothing happened. Lee is entering the final year of his contract and will earn nearly $15.5 million next season. Lee is still likely to be moved, though probably not until free agency begins in July. One player who will be coming back to help the Warriors defend their championship is guard Brandon Rush, who exercised his player option for the 2015-16 season earlier in the day.

DRAFT

Continued from page 11

D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State, who was wearing a red jacket, bowtie and shoes that matched the Buckeyes’ school colors. Red was the color of choice in the green room, though Towns wore a grey jacket and Russell’s table later turned gold when his supporters donned Lakers hats.

He

drew

huge

cheers

when

he

was

announced but his crowd was dwarfed by Towns’. The New Jersey native said he had above 50 family and friends in attendance.

“This is home to me,” he said. “Been able

to come here and have all my closest friends and love ones come out here. It’s the most special moments in my life.” The 6-foot-11 Towns averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game, as Kentucky used a platoon sys- tem in winning its first 38 games and reach- ing the Final Four. It was Kentucky’s third No. 1 pick in the last six years, joining Anthony Davis in 2012 and John Wall in 2010. The Wildcats were hoping to have a record seven players picked and were well on their way when Sacramento took center Willie Cauley-Stein with the sixth pick, Utah grabbed Trey Lyles at No. 12 and guard Devin Booker fol- lowed one spot later to Phoenix. Booker, at 18 the youngest player in the

draft, gave the Wildcats a record-tying four players among the top 14 selections. Duke in 1999 and North Carolina in 2005 also had four lottery picks. “Just shows our team was special. Unlike any other,” Lyles said. “Still got three other guys going to go tonight.” It was the sixth straight year a freshman was the No. 1 pick. For weeks, Towns and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor had been considered the top two selections. But the Lakers instead decided on backcourt help with a player who can step right in and play alongside Bryant in what could be the superstar’s final season. “Kobe’s a great dude,” Russell said. “Not knowing how much he has left in the tank is the scary thing. I’m really looking forward

to him taking me under his wing if possible and feed me the most knowledge he can and use that as fire against my opponents.” Okafor fell to the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3, becoming the 19th lottery selection and 29th first-round pick — most in NCAA history — under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Those numbers increased when Miami draft- ed Justise Winslow 10th. The Knicks ended the run of one-and- dones when they took Porzingis with the No. 4 pick. The 19-year-old forward had been surging up draft boards but Knicks fans, who haven’t forgotten the drafting of Frederic Weis and were underwhelmed by the acquisition of Andrea Bargnani, wanted no part of him, booing lustily after his name was called by Silver.

CONROY

Continued from page 11

been rumors of this Major League player or that one being gay, but that’s just idle chatter and counts for nothing,” Thorn said. “In terms of an openly gay player as (the) pitcher in your neck of the woods, we haven’t had one yet.” Conroy, a right-hander who has earned four saves and allowed only two hits in the seven innings he has pitched so far as a closer for the 15-3 Stompers, said he had been open with his high school, summer league and col- lege teams and told his family he was gay at age 16. It would have been strange not to do the same once he moved across the country and started making friends on the team in Sonoma, he said. “People would talk about their girlfriends and who they were going out to see that night.

“As a small independent team we do try to find ways to be relevant, and this is certainly in that category.But I think the (San Francisco) Giants would do the exact same thing if they were in this situation.”

— Theo Fightmaster,Sonoma Stompers general manager

Instead of getting the different looks or ques- tions when I didn’t join them, I’d rather tell you the truth and let you know who I am and have real conversations instead of the fake ones,” Conroy said. As far as coming out publicly, Conroy said he regards it as a way to help his team and to set an example for other players. “It’s not that I wanted it to go public, but I didn’t care if it was open information. It’s who I am,” he said. “I am definitely surprised that no one else has been openly gay in baseball yet.” Bean, who serves as Major League Baseball’s ambassador of inclusion, called Conroy a pioneer.

“It will be a great day for the LGBT commu- nity. I hope he pitches well and gets another opportunity to start another game,” Bean said. “It doesn’t matter if he pitches in the big leagues or not, he’s going to become a leader (tonight) in many ways, an influential leader for a lot of young kids not only in that com- munity but those who will read the story and who may be pondering that same decision in their teenage years and they want to be base- ball players or they want to be football play- ers.” Conroy’s history-making start comes at a watershed moment for gay rights, with the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to rule any day now on whether to make same-sex marriage

legal across the nation.

The Stompers did not plan to make a special announcement or call attention to the mile- stone so Conroy can focus on his pitching, Fightmaster said.

“As a small independent team we do try to find ways to be relevant, and this is certainly in that category. But I think the Giants would do the exact same thing if they were in this situation,” he said.

The life of a Stomper is certainly a far cry from the majors. Players live with host fami- lies during the June-to-August season, earn $650 a month on average and supply their own cleats, batting gloves and elbow guards. Arnold Field, their home turf, seats 370 peo- ple.

Conroy hoped to catch the eye of a big league scout but hasn’t focused on much beyond this season.

“I’m just looking to play well and do as well as I can wherever they put me,” he said.

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SENIORS

Continued from page 13

Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky. Now he’s in position to end that drought. The lone hiccup on Watson’s opening round came when he plugged his approach on the 16th hole in the gnarly rough along the bank of the lake and finished with a double bogey. Watson recovered with four birdies on his back nine — including a 50-foot putt on the second — to surge to the top of the leaderboard. As the sun skied over the Central Valley late in Watson’s round, spectators crowded in the shade along the rough instead of the ropes around the green. Some gathered around cooling stations, and others brought umbrellas and tiny electric fans to try to keep cool. Many players walked out of their way on the rough to stay in what little shade Del Paso provid- ed. Watson, meanwhile, scribbled notes on his yardage book to pre- pare for his afternoon tee time Friday, when the temperature is expected to rise above 100 again. “Usually, you have your diagram on your book that says all right, here’s the bunker, here’s the green like this,” Watson said, pointing. “Now you have a diagram, here’s the shade over here, the shade over here, there’s a shade behind the tee over there. That’s what you’re looking for right now.”

Will Middlebrooks tripled for the Padres. Chris Heston (8-5), who pitched a no-hit- ter at the New York Mets on June 9, won for the third time in four starts. He gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked one. “I had command of the strike zone,” Heston said. “I was able to work both sides of the plate.” James Shields (7-2) allowed seven runs — his most since June last year — and nine hits in four-plus innings, his shortest outing this season. “They jumped on me early to get a couple of runs,” Shields said. “After that, I felt like I was pitching well. In the fourth, they got some hits when I executed pitches and they just found holes. Pagan was a 3-2 changeup out of the zone and Posey hit one a foot off the plate and down and he managed to poke it into right.” San Diego closed to 9-8 with a six-run eighth, when Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer and four pinch hitters reached base. Jeremy Affledt gave up consecutive dou- bles to pinch-hitters Yangervis Solarte and Clint Barmes ahead of Kemp’s drive to cen- ter. Pinch-hitter Derek Norris walked and Yonder Alfonso singled against Javier Lopez. “That felt good and we got back in it,” Kemp said. “We still have a lot of fight left in us.” Sergio Romo got two outs, but consecu- tive singles by Alexi Amarista and pinch- hitter Brett Wallace drove in runs. Solarte singled in his second at-bat of the inning to cut the deficit to one run before Romo retired Barmes on a popout. San Francisco scored four runs in the bot- tom half against Shawn Kelley and Brandon Maurer on Posey’s two-run double, Crawford’s RBI double and Duffy’s RBI sin- gle.